Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 29, 2012

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Hancock County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. A 84 mph wind gust was measured by an trained spotter in Findlay. Over 75 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored in Hancock County till July 6th. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of dozens of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. In Findlay alone, 464 structures were damaged by the strong winds. Of these, one building was destroyed with 15 other sustaining major damage and 43 with significant damage. Much of this damage was from lost roofing or siding. At least four semi trucks were blown over on Interstate 75 to the south of Findlay. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures as warm as 100 degrees. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

Penny sized hail was observed.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Wyandot County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 80 mph. The southwest corner of the county was the hardest hit. Over 50 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for several days. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of dozens of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Dozens of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Marion County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 80 mph and a 62 mph gust was measured by an automated sensor on the north end of the county. Over 75 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored till July 5th. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of dozens of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Hundreds of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. At least one semi truck was overturned by the strong winds. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across the southern end of Seneca County during the afternoon of June 29th causing some damage. A wind sensor near Tiffin measured a 65 mph wind gust. The Springville area in southwestern Seneca County was especially hard hit with dozens of trees knocked down. A few homes and buildings lost roofing or siding. Scattered power outages were reported.

Quarter sized hail was observed.

Golf ball sized hail was observed.

Nickel sized hail was observed.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Crawford County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 70 mph. A 66 mph wind gust was measured in Bucyrus. The southeast corner of the county was the hardest hit. Over 50 percent of residents in southern Crawford County lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for several days. Hundreds of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of some of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Dozens of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. A mobile home was destroyed just to the north of Bucyrus. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Marion County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 80 mph. Over 75 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for almost a week. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of dozens of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Hundreds of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Damage to public property alone was over $700 thousand.

Golf ball sized hail was observed.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across southern Richland County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 65 mph. Over 50 percent of residents in the southern third to half of the county lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for several days. Hundreds of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of some of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Dozens of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm in southern Richland County was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Knox County during the late afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 65 mph. Over 50 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for several days. Hundreds of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of some of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Dozens of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across southern Ashland County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 65 mph. Over 50 percent of residents in the southern third of the county lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for several days. Hundreds of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of some of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Dozens of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm in southern Ashland County was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Holmes County during the late afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 60 mph. The worst damage was across the southern half of the county where dozens of trees and some utility poles were knocked down. Scattered power outages were reported. Some damage to homes and buildings was reported. Most of the damage was from lost roofing or siding.